She was only nine when dressed up like a vegetable vendor Gemma Marius Fernandes delivered a powerful monologue in a show that was aired on Panaji Doordarshan and grabbed the attention of many stalwarts in the theatre filed in Goa. Not shying away from acting any given part on stage, this bright-eyed girl exhibited brilliant talent while performing in front of a jam-packed audience. Today having studied at the University Of West London, Gemma, 23, is a graduate with BA (Hons) in Acting for Stage and Media, a three-year course that she pursued in UK.
Gemma’s accents and dialects are American-Standard, Bolton, English-Standard, Indian, Leicester, London, Luton, Pakistani, RP, Sheffield, Yorkshire and apart from knowing languages like Konkani she is fluent in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu. She is also good at drums, Indian dance, singing, waltz and Zumba.
Speaking about her training in UK, Gemma briefs, “I learnt multiple things there - audio books and audio drama, children’s theatre, comedy, comedy improve, dubbing, forum theatre, Laban training, live role play, sight reading, mask, musical comedy, musical theatre, outdoor performances, physical theatre, promenade theatre, public speaking, stand-up comic, street theatre, verbatim theatre, voice acting, voice over etc.”
Good at badminton, bowling, boxing, stage combat, swimming, table tennis, tennis and yoga, Gemma graduated in 2016 and continued to work in UK for some time. “I did some music videos, commercials, corporate videos, theatre products and also scripted my own pieces too for professional theatrical activities. This year I did an advert for HSBC, Wimbledon Tennis, the premier tennis foundation in the world. The matches have just begun,” she says, adding, “Konkani is very much alive and kicking in England and I am looking forward to contribute to it in UK as well as Goa.”
Born and brought up in the UK, this daughter of Sheela and Marius Fernandes was enrolled in the local school, Our Lady of Divar High School when the Fernandes couple returned to strengthen their bond with their homeland Goa and soak in the Konkani culture. Sheela and Marius, both wanted to instil the love for Goan culture in both their children Gemma and Ashley and today they admit that they have succeeded in doing so.
Gemma was quick to absorb the local culture and skilfully utilise her acting nuance to further her career as a child artiste. She got her first break at a function held at St Mathias Chapel on the island which proved to be her stepping stone in the world of theatre. A chance spotting by noted stage director Atmaram Pilgaonkar inspired him to write a play ‘Vauradi’ for this little girl that catapulted her to instant fame. Gemma never looked back after her first bold appearance on stage and the prizes that followed one after the other.
Marius recalls, “Gemma pocketed all the top tiatr awards in her career as a child artist. She won the best child artiste award at all the four main competitions: Kala Academy Tiatr Competition at Kala Academy, the Polio Popular Tiatr Competition organised by the Tiatr Academy of Goa, the first Children Tiatr Competition organised by the Tiatr Academy of Goa and Vandana Productions Borim.” Tiatr has afforded her plenty of opportunities besides fame and self-confidence and that’s what she found her calling in. Gemma who pursued her career in theatre studies in UK has returned to Goa recently.
Acting comes natural to Gemma who admits it with pride. Being on the stage from childhood has instilled in her a rare confidence. “As a child artist I my debut performance for television was possible because of Socorro de Santa Cruz, the famous tiatrist on our island Divar where we lived. He paved my way on the television screen. Stalwart Alfred Fernandes of Alfie Arts Productions too offered a role in tiatr ‘Pakkam’ which was performed first at the Kala Academy Tiatr Competition. Comedian 64 (Christopher Menezes) also cast me in his tiatr ‘Tthikann’ which signed my entry into big commercial stage. This tiatr staged fifty shows across Goa and while I was performing on the stage, my brother Ashley was playing in the band and my father accompanying us wherever our show was scheduled.” Gemma has since then performed in amateur and professional theatre.
Like his sister Ashley, too began his music journey at a very young age at the Pilar Musica School in Divar and pursued further studies in Piano, Saxophone and music therapy at Kala Academy. Ashley had to leave Goa for London to join SAE Institute that offers courses in audio engineering, 3D animation, multimedia, graphic design, game design, digital filmmaking and music production.
It’s time to give back to Goa, feels the Fernandes family. While Gemma is eager to offer her acting skills to Konkani tiatr, Ashley has succeeded in finding an eco-friendly alternative membrane for the Goan musical instrument Ghumot. He recently came up with an ingenious innovation with the Ghumot - modifying the design to include three playing surfaces - a three sided Ghumot which he fondly christened as ‘Ghumotteen’.
As a proud father Marius Fernandes is happy that his UK born children have taken to their roots in Goa and have returned to contribute their bit of art to the land of their forefathers as Goa is celebrating the 125th year of Tiatr this year.
